Auto frame pulling apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for pulling an auto frame to straighten the same including an electrical winch having a drum with a line wound on it, a reversible electrical motor for rotating the drum to wind and unwind the line, and electrical control means having forward and reverse controls for operating the motor in forward and reverse directions. The electrical winch is mounted on a base, and a post extends generally upward from the base for retaining the line. The line passes through a pulley mounted on the post for guiding the line to an auto frame to be pulled for straightening purposes. The pulley is adjustable vertically up and down the post.

United States Patent [191 Brabant AUTO FRAME PULLING- APPARATUS [76] Inventor: Omer E. Brabant, 1641 N. Andrews Ext, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 3331 1 22 Filed: July 12,1972

21 Appl. No.2 271,073

[52] US. Cl. 72/309, 72/705 [51] Int. Cl B2ld 1/12 [58] Field of Search 72/308, 309,705; 254/47,

[111 3,808,866 [451 May 7, 1974 2,334,080 11/1943 Freeman 72/705 3,034,564 5/1962 Cavazos 72/705 3,261,477 7/1966 Powell 254/168 [5 7] ABSTRACT Apparatus for pulling an auto frame to straighten the same including an electrical winch having a drum with a line wound on it, a reversible electrical motor for rotating the drum to wind and unwind the line, and electrical control means having forward and reverse controls for operating the motor in forward and reverse directions. The electrical winch is mounted on a base, and a post extends generally upward from the base for retaining the line. The line passes through a pulley mounted on the post for guiding the line to-an auto frame to be pulled for straightening purposes. The pulley is adjustable vertically up and down the post.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures AUTO FRAME PULLING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Known auto frame pulling apparatus has usualy included hydraulic means for pulling an auto frame with a line coupled to the hydraulic means. Such apparatus is often cumbersome and very heavy so that it is difficult to-manipulate in an auto frame straightening area. Some attempts have been made to provide more compact and lightweight apparatus for straightening auto frames, including hand operated apparatus. In general, hand operated apparatus cannot generate sufficient power to straighten a badly bent auto frame.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides auto frame straightening apparatus which is powered by an electrical winch which has ample power for frame straightening purposes and yet is more compact and lightweight than hydraulic apparatus found in auto frame straightening applications. The electrical winch includes a reversible electrical motor which drives a drum forward and backward to wind and unwind a line from a reel or drum. The line is fastened to the frame of an automobie which is anchored in the straightening area. The winch is mounted on a base which is also anchored. When the winch winds up the line, the line pulls on the frame to straighten the frame. The motor of the winch is operated in forward and reverse directions by means of forward and reverse controls which may be momentary contact switches. The line extends from the winch upward along a' post mounted on the base and passes through a pulley which is adjustable upward and downward along the post so that the pulley can be positioned at the proper height. In a preferred embodiment, the line passes from the winch around a rod and then upward to the pulley so that the winch can be mounted in an inverted position on the base.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved auto frame straightening apparatus powered by an electrical winch.

Another object of the invention is to provide an auto frame pulling apparatus in which a winch is driven by an electrical motor having forward and reverse controls for operating the motor in forward and reverse directions to wind and unwind a line.

Another object of the invention is to provide an auto frame pulling apparatus in which a line is gulded by pully means that is adjustable vertically on a post of the apparatus for selecting the proper height for the line.

A further object of the invention is to properly guide the line through the apparatus to achieve efficient direction of forces and allow practical mounting of the electrical winch.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simple, strong, and durable base and post structure for an auto frame pulling apparatus.

Other objects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an auto frame pulling apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an electrical winch included in the apparatus of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing the apparatus connected to an automobile for straightening the frame or other structures of the automobile.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The apparatus 10 of FIG. 1 includes a base 12 consisting of an angle member 14 to which are welded two parallel support elements 16 and 18 in the form of I- A post 26, which may also be a steel I-beam, is welded at its bottom end to the member 14 and rises generally vertically upward from member 14. A pulley means generally designated 28 is adjustably mounted on the post 26. The pulley means 28 may consist of a pulley 30, a bracket 32 having a loop 34- for receiving the hook 36 of the pulley 30, and a pin 38 allowing for vertical adjustment of the pulley means. The pin 38 spans the legs of the bracket 32, and passes through one of a series of vertically spaced openings 40. Thus, the pin can be removed from any given opening and reinserted into a different opening to adjust the height of the pulley means 28. I I V The power for the pulling apparatus is derived from an electrical winch generally designated 42. The winch 42 'is mounted on the parallel support elements 16 and 18 of the base means 12 as by welding or by bolts. The winch 42 includes a housing 44 in which a drum or reel 46 is mounted for rotation on a shaft 48 (FIG. 2). A reversible electrical motor 50 inside the housing 44 is coupled to the shaft 48 and therefore to the drum 46 so as to rotate the drum in forward and reverse directions. The motor 50 has electrical control means 52 (FIG. 1) connected by a cord 54 to the motor 50. The control means 52 includes a forward switch 56 and a reverse switch 58 which may be momentarily depressed to operate the motor 50 in forward and reverse directions respectively. A standard power cord (not shown) is also provided for the motor 50.

The housing 44 has a generally downwardly facing opening 60 at which the drum 46 is exposed. The housing 44 is mounted on the support elements 16 and 18 with the opening 60 facing downwardly. In FIG. 1, part of the housing 44 has been cut away to reveal a rod 62 which spans the elements 16 and I8 and is welded to them. The line 64 passes from the drum 46 around the underside of the rod 62, and then extends upwardly to thepulley '30 which guides the line 64 to the automobile 66 as shown in FIG. 3. The automobile is anchored at '68 to the floor, and the base 12 is likewise anchored, either to the floor or to a structural member such as column 70. v

In order to straighten the frame of a vehicle, the forward switch 56 is depressed momentarily to wind the line 64 on the drum 46. The winch may develop a very high pulling force, say 1 to 3 tons by way of example. The line 64 may be attached either directly to the frame of the vehicle or to some related structure of the vehicle such as the radiator 72 shown in FIG. 3. The line 64 is preferably steel cable. Since the pulley means 28 is adjustable verticallyon the post 26, the height of the horizontal section of cable 64 which extends between the pulley means 28 and the automobile 66 can be readily adjusted so that a horizontal pulling force is exerted on the particular section of the automobile to which the line 64 is attached. The wheels 24 of the base 12 provide for easy mobility of the apparatus, and the handle 74 which is attached to the upper end of the post 26 makes it easy to move the apparatus about.

Although the electrical winch of the apparatus will.

a rigid post structure extending up from said base be- I tweensaid beams;

a reel 'rotatably mounted above and between said beams for rotation about a horizontal axis at one side of said post structure;

an electric motor supported from said base above said beams at said one side of said post structure and operatively coupled to said reel to drive the latter; a housing for said reel and said motor mounted on top of said beams and extending laterally across the space between them; and a pulley supported by said'post structure at a higher level than said reel at said one side of the post structure, and a line wound around said reel and extending therefrom up around said pulley and back away from said post structure at said one side of the post structure longitudinally of the beams above the reel.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, and further comprising:

means on said post structure providing a plurality of vertically spaced locations for the attachment of of said pulley;

and a suspension support for said pulley having means for releasable attachment to said post structure at any of said vertically spaced locations thereon.

3. An apparatus according toclaim 1, and further comprising:

an elongated electrical cable operatively connected at one end to said motor at the side of said housing away from said post structure;

and manually operable switch means on the opposite end of said cable for selectively controlling the energization of the motor.

4. An apparatus-according-to claim 3, wherein said motor is reversible, and said switch means comprisesforward and reverse switches for the motor.

5. An apparatus according to claim 3, and further comprising:

means on said post structure providing a plurality of vertically spaced locations for the attachment of said pulley; v and a suspension support for said pulley having means for releasable attachment to said post structure at any of said vertically spaced locations thereon. 6. An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said motor is reversible, and said switch means comprises forward and reverse switches for the motor.

* =l= lf 

1. An auto frame pulling apparatus comprising: a base having a pair of laterally spaced, substantially parallel, rigid beams, and ground-engaging rollers supporting said base; a rigid post structure extending up from said base between said beams; a reel rotatably mounted above and between said beams for rotation about a horizontal axis at one side of said post structure; an electric motor supported from said base above said beams at said one side of said post structure and operatively coupled to said reel to drive the latter; a housing for said reel and said motor mounted on top of said beams and extending laterally across the space between them; and a pulley supported by said post structure at a higher level than said reel at said one side of the post structure, and a line wound around said reel and extending therefrom up around said pulley and back away from said post structure at said one side of the post structure longitudinally of the beams above the reel.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, and further comprising: means on said post structure providing a plurality of vertically spaced locations for the attachment of of said pulley; and a suspension support for said pulley having means for releasable attachment to said post structure at any of said vertically spaced locations thereon.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 1, and further comprising: an elongated electrical cable operatively connected at one end to said motor at the side of said housing away from said post structure; and manually operable switch means on the opposite end of said cable for selectively controlling the energization of the motor.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said motor is reversible, and said switch means comprises forward and reverse switches for the motor.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 3, and further comprising: means on said post structure providing a plurality of vertically spaced locations for the attachment of said pulley; and a suspension support for said pulley having means for releasable attachment to said post structure at any of said vertically spaced locations thereon.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said motor is reversible, and said switch means comprises forward and reverse switches for the motor. 